104 DOMESTICATED TROUT. 



enough to leave them, some say twenty minutes, and 

 one late authority says one minute. I should rather 

 leave them together forty-five minutes than less. It 

 depends, however, very much on the temperature of 

 the water, the adhesive period lengthening as the 

 temperature decreases. You are more likely to err 

 on the safe side by keeping them too long together, 

 than by not keeping them long enough. 



6. Rinse thoroughly. The eggs should be thor- 

 oughly rinsed before removal to the hatching boxes, 

 for the effete milt clinging to them eventually putrefies 

 and kills the eggs if left on them. They should 

 therefore be rinsed till the water in the pan is per- 

 fectly clear. Some authorities recommend washing 

 the eggs w4ien first taken from the fish, to get rid of 

 the mucus enveloping them, which is thought unfa- 

 vorable to impregnation. There is no sort of sense 

 in this. 



7. Practise to acqui7'e dexterity i?i handling the fish. 

 Time 'is so valuable in impregnating eggs, that it is 

 worth while to practise, as in any accomplishment, 

 for dexterity. Dexterity, when acquired, saves time at 

 the very moment when time is the most precious, and 

 often secures the impregnation of eggs which would 

 otherwise be lost. The difference between a skilled 

 expert and a novice in this respect is astonishing. 

 The former will run through a large lot of fish, and 

 spawn them all properly in a time that would seem 

 incredibly short to a bungler, who would very likely 

 consume half a day on the same number. The results, 

 also, of his manipulations, will present an equal con- 



